5 Tips for Organising your Junk Drawer

In every house, across the world, one constant remains: The Junk Drawer. It’s that drawer where you keep all the things that don’t quite fit anywhere else; batteries, string, an old birthday card you liked and swore you were going to frame. Some people call it a multi-use drawer (and, if that makes you feel better, go ahead), but it’s usually filled with things you might need – and maybe some you never will. The only way to ensure it doesn’t become a junk room is to keep it organised with these tips:

Step 1: Purge

Marie Kondo was obviously thinking about the junk drawer when she told us to throw out anything that didn’t bring us a joy. The key to turning a junk drawer into something useful is to start by chucking out all the old chopsticks, broken Nokia 3210s, and tomato sauce packets. Be ruthless!

Step 2: Arrange

Once you have thrown out what you don’t need, take all the other items out of the drawer and arrange them into piles of things that are similar. All pamphlets / food take-out menus can go together, or all old nails and light bulbs can pair up. Have everything out in the open so you can see it all!

Step 3: Move

Now that you have piles of items that are connected, decide if they might fit in better elsewhere. Did you end up with a lot of old staples? Move those to the office. Suddenly realise you have three rolls of sticky tape? Send it off to the gift-wrapping station. You’ll be surprised how much junk drawer stuff can actually fit elsewhere.

Step 4: Store

Invest in some sturdy drawer dividers (you can also make your own using plywood) or use functional multi-section containers that will fit inside your drawer. These will separate your drawer into different sections, making it much easier to keep things tidy. Place each of your similar piles into a different section – and then label each section for the future. Using more general labels like “school notes” or “kitchen” will allow you to use the dividers for longer – and keep in line with the spirit of the drawer.

Step 5: Keep it up

Look, we don’t think this is going to save your drawer entirely for the long term. We know how things go. Commit to organising your junk drawer once a month. The more you do it, the faster it will get – and you’ll never get stuck squishing old letters into an over-stuffed drawer again.